U.S. patent number 9,197,982 [Application Number 13/919,922] was granted by the patent office on 2015-11-24 for method and system for distributed transceivers for distributed access points connectivity.
This patent grant is currently assigned to GOLBA LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is Golba LLC. Invention is credited to Mehran Moshfeghi.
United States Patent |
9,197,982 |
Moshfeghi |
November 24, 2015 |
Method and system for distributed transceivers for distributed
access points connectivity
Abstract
A controlling entity communicates with a plurality of network
devices having a plurality of distributed transceivers and one or
more corresponding antenna arrays. The controlling entity receives
information, such as location information, propagation environment
characteristics, physical environment characteristics and/or link
parameters and quality from the network devices and/or
communication devices that are communicatively coupled to the
plurality of network devices. The controlling entity coordinates
communication of data streams for the distributed transceivers and
the antenna arrays based on the received information. The network
device comprises an access point, a router, a switching device, a
gateway and/or a set top box. The controlling entity is located
within or external to one of the network devices. One or more
functions performed by the controlling entity are split between the
controlling entity and one or more of the network devices.
Inventors: |
Moshfeghi; Mehran (Rancho Palos
Verdes, CA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Golba LLC |
Rancho Palos Verdes |
CA |
US |
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Assignee: |
GOLBA LLC (Rancho Palos Verdes,
CA)
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Family
ID: |
50066136 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/919,922 |
Filed: |
June 17, 2013 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20140044041 A1 |
Feb 13, 2014 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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61725005 |
Nov 11, 2012 |
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61680872 |
Aug 8, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W
76/15 (20180201); H04B 7/10 (20130101); H04B
7/0617 (20130101); H04B 17/26 (20150115); H04L
12/6418 (20130101); H04B 7/0689 (20130101); H04B
7/0697 (20130101); H04B 7/12 (20130101); H04B
17/309 (20150115); H04L 5/0048 (20130101); H04W
24/02 (20130101); H04B 7/0871 (20130101); H04B
17/382 (20150115); H04B 7/0456 (20130101); H04B
7/024 (20130101); H04L 7/033 (20130101); H04B
17/336 (20150115); H04W 4/00 (20130101); H04W
84/00 (20130101); H04W 16/10 (20130101); H04B
7/0413 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04W
4/00 (20090101); H04L 12/64 (20060101); H04B
17/382 (20150101); H04B 17/309 (20150101); H04B
17/26 (20150101); H04B 7/12 (20060101); H04B
7/10 (20060101); H04B 7/08 (20060101); H04B
7/06 (20060101); H04B 7/02 (20060101); H04W
76/02 (20090101); H04W 84/00 (20090101); H04W
16/10 (20090101) |
Field of
Search: |
;370/328,334,337 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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WO 2013/058998 |
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Apr 2013 |
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WO |
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WO 2013/058999 |
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Apr 2013 |
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WO |
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Other References
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/473,083, filed
Apr. 17, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/473,096, filed
Apr. 17, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/473,105, filed
Jul. 30, 2014, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 14/455,859, filed
Dec. 10, 2014, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/473,113, filed
Apr. 8, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/473,160, filed
Apr. 2, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/473,144, filed
Feb. 9, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/473,180, filed
Jun. 11, 2014, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 14/325,218, filed
Dec. 7, 2014, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/919,958, filed
Jan. 5, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/919,932, filed
Feb. 6, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/919,967, filed
Feb. 9, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant .
International Search Report and Written Opinion for
PCT/US2012/058839, filed Jan. 4, 2013, Golba LLC. cited by
applicant .
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for
PCT/US2012/058839, filed May 1, 2014, Golba LLC. cited by applicant
.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for
PCT/US2012/058842, filed Jan. 4, 2013, Golba LLC. cited by
applicant .
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for
PCT/US2012/058842, filed May 1, 2014, Golba LLC. cited by applicant
.
U.S. Appl. No. 14/709,136, filed May 11, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran.
cited by applicant .
Portions of prosecution history of U.S. Appl. No. 13/919,972, Jun.
4, 2015, Moshfeghi, Mehran. cited by applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Nooristany; Sulaiman
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Adeli LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY
REFERENCE
This application makes reference to, claims priority to and claims
the benefit of: U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/725,005,
which was filed on Nov. 11, 2012; and U.S. Provisional Application
Ser. No. 61/680,872, which was filed on Aug. 8, 2012.
This application also makes reference to: U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,096, which was filed on May 16, 2012, now published as U.S.
Patent Publication 2013-0094439; U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,144, which was filed on May 16, 2012, now published as U.S.
Patent Publication 2013-0095747; U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,105, which was filed on May 16, 2012, now issued as U.S.
Pat. No. 8,817,678; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,160, which was
filed on May 16, 2012, now published as U.S. Patent Publication
2013-0095874; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,180, which was filed
on May 16, 2012, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,780,943; U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/473,113, which was filed on May 16, 2012,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0094544; U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/473,083, which was filed on May 16, 2012,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0095770; U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/919,932, which was filed on Jun. 17, 2013,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2014-0045541; U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/919,958, which was filed on Jun. 17, 2013,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2014-0044042; U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/919,967, which was filed on Jun. 17, 2013,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2014-0045478; and U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/919,972, which was filed on Jun. 17, 2013,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2014-0044043;
Each of the above referenced application is hereby incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of communicating data to an electronic device that is
operable to communicate with a plurality of network devices,
wherein the electronic device and each of said plurality of network
devices comprises a plurality of distributed transceivers, each
distributed transceiver comprising an antenna array comprising a
plurality of antennas, the method comprising: identifying a first
pair of transceivers comprising a first transceiver of the
electronic device and a transceiver of a first network device of
said plurality of network devices to communicate a first data
stream from the first network device to the electronic device;
identifying a second pair of transceivers comprising a second
transceiver of the electronic device and a transceiver of a second
network device of said plurality of network devices to communicate
a second data stream from the second network device to the
electronic device; identifying antenna patterns for the antenna
arrays of the first and second pairs of transceivers such that a
cross-interference between the first and second data streams at the
electronic device is below a threshold; coordinating a
communication of the first data stream from the antenna array of
the identified transceiver of the first network device to the
antenna array of the first transceiver of the electronic device
using (i) the antenna pattern identified for the first pair of
transceivers and (ii) a first frequency; and coordinating,
concurrently with said first data stream, a communication of the
second data stream from the antenna array of the identified
transceiver of the second network device to the antenna array of
the second transceiver of the electronic device using (i) the
antenna pattern identified for the second pair of transceivers and
(ii) said first frequency.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of said first and
second network devices comprises one of an access point, a router,
a switching device, a gateway, and a set top box.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the first
and second pairs of transceivers and identifying the antenna
patterns are performed by a controlling entity integrated within
one of said plurality of network devices.
4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising: receiving
information regarding at least one of (i) propagation environment
characteristics, (ii) physical environment characteristics, (iii) a
location of the electronic device, (iv) a location of the first
network device, (v) a location of the second network device, and
(vi) link quality; and adaptively adjusting the antenna patterns of
one or more of said first and second pairs of distributed
transceivers based on said received information.
5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising: receiving
information regarding at least one of (i) propagation environment
characteristics, (ii) physical environment characteristics, (iii) a
location of the electronic device, (iv) a location of the first
network device, (v) a location of the second network device, and
(vi) link quality; storing said received information to generate a
history of received information; aggregating said history of
received information with current information received regarding at
least one of (i) propagation environment characteristics, (ii)
physical environment characteristics, (iii) a location of the
electronic device, (iv) a location of the first network device, (v)
a location of the second network device, and (vi) link quality; and
adaptively adjusting the antenna patterns of one or more of said
first and second pairs of distributed transceivers based on said
aggregated history of received information and current received
information.
6. The method according to claim 1 further comprising: determining
that the cross-interference between the first and second data
streams at the electronic device is exceeding said threshold;
adaptively controlling said first and second pairs of distributed
transceivers to utilize a different mode of operation, wherein said
different mode of operation comprises one of a spatial diversity
mode, a frequency diversity mode, a frequency multiplexing mode,
and a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) mode.
7. The method according to claim 1 further comprising backhauling
traffic from one or more of said first and second network devices
via one or more wired or wireless communication links.
8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising configuring
said first and second pairs of distributed transceivers to utilize
different modulation schemes, constellations, protocols,
frequencies, wireless standards or bandwidths to handle different
types of data traffic.
9. A system, comprising: a controlling entity comprising one or
more processors that are operable to coordinate communication of
data to an electronic device by a plurality of network devices,
wherein the electronic device and each of said plurality of network
devices comprises a plurality of distributed transceivers, each
distributed transceiver comprising an antenna array comprising a
plurality of antennas, the controlling entity configured to:
identify a first pair of transceivers comprising a first
transceiver of the electronic device and a transceiver of a first
network device of said plurality of network devices to communicate
a first data stream from the first network device to the electronic
device; identify a second pair of transceivers comprising a second
transceiver of the electronic device and a transceiver of a second
network device of said plurality of network devices to communicate
a second data stream from the second network device to the
electronic device; identify antenna patterns for the antenna arrays
of the first and second pairs of transceivers such that a
cross-interference between the first and second data streams at the
electronic device is below a threshold; coordinate a communication
of the first data stream from the antenna array of the identified
transceiver of the first network device to the antenna array of the
first transceiver of the electronic device using (i) the antenna
pattern identified for the first pair of transceivers and (ii) a
first frequency; and coordinate, concurrently with said first data
stream, a communication of the second data stream from the antenna
array of the identified transceiver of the second network device to
the antenna array of the second transceiver of the electronic
device using (i) the antenna pattern identified for the second pair
of transceivers and (ii) said first frequency.
10. The system according to claim 9, wherein each of said first and
second network devices comprises one of an access point, a router,
a switching device, a gateway, and a set top box.
11. The system according to claim 9, wherein said controlling
entity is integrated within one of said plurality of network
devices.
12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the controlling entity
is further configured to: receive information regarding at least
one of (i) propagation environment characteristics, (ii) physical
environment characteristics, (iii) a location of the electronic
device, (iv) a location of the first network device, (v) a location
of the second network device, and (vi) link quality; and adaptively
control adjustment of the antenna patterns of one or more of said
first and second pairs of distributed transceivers based on said
received information.
13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the controlling entity
is further configured to: receive information regarding at least
one of (i) propagation environment characteristics, (ii) physical
environment characteristics, (iii) a location of the electronic
device, (iv) a location of the first network device, (v) a location
of the second network device, and (vi) link quality; store said
received information to generate a history of received information;
aggregate said history of received information with current
information received regarding at least one of (i) propagation
environment characteristics, (ii) physical environment
characteristics, (iii) a location of the electronic device, (iv) a
location of the first network device, (v) a location of the second
network device, and (vi) link quality; and adaptively control
adjustment of the antenna patterns of one or more of said first and
second pairs of distributed transceivers based on said aggregated
history of received information and current received
information.
14. The system according to claim 9, wherein the controlling entity
is further configured to: determine that that cross-interference
between the first and second data streams at the electronic device
is exceeding said threshold; adaptively control said first and
second pairs of distributed transceivers to utilize a different
mode of operation, wherein said different mode of operation
comprises one of a spatial diversity mode, a frequency diversity
mode, a frequency multiplexing mode, and a multiple input multiple
output (MIMO) mode.
15. The system according to claim 9, wherein the controlling entity
is further configured to backhaul traffic from one or more of said
first and second network devices via one or more wired or wireless
communication links.
16. The system according to claim 9, wherein the controlling entity
is further configured to configure said first and second pairs of
distributed transceivers to utilize different modulation schemes,
constellations, protocols, frequencies, wireless standards or
bandwidths to handle different types of data traffic.
17. The system according to claim 9, wherein the controlling entity
is located external to said first and second network devices.
18. The system according to claim 9, the controlling entity further
configured to: receive information regarding at least one of (i)
propagation environment characteristics, (ii) physical environment
characteristics, (iii) a location of the electronic device, (iv) a
location of the first network device, (v) a location of the second
network device, and (vi) link quality; and configure said first and
second pairs of distributed transceivers to utilize different
modulation schemes, constellations, protocols, frequencies,
wireless standards or bandwidths based on said received
information.
19. The system according to claim 9, wherein the electronic device
is a non-mobile communication device.
20. The system according to claim 9, wherein the first data stream
and the second data stream are independent streams.
21. The system according to claim 20, wherein said independent
streams each comprise a different coding.
22. The system according to claim 9, wherein the antenna patterns
for the first and second pairs of transceivers are calculated based
on the location of the electronic device and the network
devices.
23. The system according to claim 9, wherein the antenna patterns
for the first and second pairs of transceivers are calculated based
on a geometry of the environment comprising a presence of
reflective surfaces and obstructive elements in the
environment.
24. The system according to claim 9, wherein the first network
device concurrently communicates with a set of network devices in
the plurality of network devices other than the second network
device using a sets of distributed transceivers in the plurality of
distributed transceivers of the first network device.
25. The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the first
and second pairs of transceivers and identifying the antenna
patterns are performed by a controlling entity located external to
said first and second network devices.
26. The method according to claim 1 further comprising: receiving
information regarding at least one of (i) propagation environment
characteristics, (ii) physical environment characteristics, (iii) a
location of the electronic device, (iv) a location of the first
network device, (v) a location of the second network device, and
(vi) link quality; and configuring said first and second pairs of
distributed transceivers to utilize different modulation schemes,
constellations, protocols, frequencies, wireless standards or
bandwidths based on said received information.
27. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device
is a non-mobile communication device.
28. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first data stream
and the second data stream are independent streams.
29. The method according to claim 28, wherein said independent
streams each comprise a different coding.
30. The method according to claim 1, wherein the antenna patterns
for the first and second pairs of transceivers are calculated based
on the location of the electronic device and the network
devices.
31. The method according to claim 1, wherein the antenna patterns
for the first and second pairs of transceivers are calculated based
on a geometry of the environment comprising a presence of
reflective surfaces and obstructive elements in the
environment.
32. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first network
device concurrently communicates with a set of network devices in
the plurality of network devices other than the second network
device using a sets of distributed transceivers in the plurality of
distributed transceivers of the first network device.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wireless
communication systems. More specifically, certain embodiments of
the invention relate to a method and system for distributed
transceivers for distributed access points connectivity.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Millimeter Wave (mmWave) devices are being utilized for high
throughput wireless communications at very high carrier
frequencies. There are several standards bodies such as, for
example, 60 GHz wireless standard, WirelessHD, WiGig, and WiFi IEEE
802.11ad that utilize high frequencies such as the 60 GHz frequency
spectrum for high throughput wireless communications. In the US,
the 60 GHz spectrum band may be used for unlicensed short range
data links such as data links within a range of 1.7 km, with data
throughputs up to 6 Gbits/s. These higher frequencies may provide
smaller wavelengths and enable the use of small high gain antennas.
However, these higher frequencies may experience high propagation
loss.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and
traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the
art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the
present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present
application with reference to the drawings.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system and/or method is provided for distributed transceivers for
distributed access points connectivity, substantially as shown in
and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as
set forth more completely in the claims.
These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the
present invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment
thereof, will be more fully understood from the following
description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providing
connectivity to a plurality of distributed transceivers via a
plurality of distributed access points, in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating distributed transceivers
utilized for wireless communication in access points and a mobile
communication device, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating distributed transceivers
utilized for wireless communication in access points where the
access points utilize different link protocols and/or operating
modes, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating distributed transceivers
utilized for wireless communication in access points where the
access points utilize wireless backhaul links, in accordance with
an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for
coordinating communication for a plurality of distributed
transceivers, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for
coordinating communication for a plurality of distributed
transceivers, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and
system for distributed transceivers enabling distributed access
points connectivity. In various aspects of the invention, a
controlling entity communicates with a plurality of network devices
having a plurality of distributed transceivers and one or more
corresponding antenna arrays. The controlling entity receives
information, such as location information, propagation environment
characteristics, physical environment characteristics and/or link
parameters and quality, from the network devices and/or
communication devices that are communicatively coupled to the
plurality of network devices. The controlling entity coordinates
communication of data streams for the distributed transceivers and
the antenna arrays based on the received information. The network
device includes an access point, a router, a switching device, a
gateway and/or a set top box. The controlling entity is located
within or external to one of the network devices. One or more
functions performed by the controlling entity are split between the
controlling entity and one or more of the network devices. The
controlling entity dynamically and/or adaptively controls
adjustment of one or more configuration settings for the
distributed transceivers and/or the antenna arrays based on the
received information. The controlling entity stores the received
information to generate a history of received information. The
history of received information is aggregated with current
information received from the network devices and/or from the
communication devices. The controlling entity dynamically and/or
adaptively controls adjustment of configuration settings for the
distributed transceivers and/or antenna arrays in a plurality of
network devices based on the aggregated history of received
information and current received information. The controlling
entity dynamically and/or adaptively controls two or more of the
distributed transceivers in a network device to utilize different
modes of operation and/or to split the communication of the data
streams amongst one or more distributed transceivers in a plurality
of network devices. Exemplary modes of operation may comprise a
spatial diversity mode, a frequency diversity mode, a spatial
multiplexing mode, a frequency multiplexing mode and a MIMO mode of
operation. The controlling entity may backhaul traffic from the
network devices via one or more wired and/or wireless communication
links. The controlling entity may also configure two or more of the
plurality of distributed transceivers in a network device to
utilize different modulation schemes, constellations, protocols,
frequencies, wireless standards and/or bandwidths to handle
different types of data traffic and/or control traffic based on the
received information.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providing
connectivity to a plurality of distributed transceivers via a
plurality of distributed access points, in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1, there
are shown mmWave and wireless communication networks 10, 12,
service providers 14, 16 and the Internet 18. The mmWave and
wireless communication network 10 may comprise a gateway 20 and a
plurality of access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n. The mmWave and
wireless communication network 12 may comprise a gateway 22, a
gateway 24, a plurality of access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n, and
a coordinating entity 28. FIG. 1 also shows a plurality of mobile
communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n, a plurality of
mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42, and a
coordinating entity 38. The Internet 18 may host a plurality of
resources such as the server 18a.
The mmWave and wireless communication network 10 may comprise a
plurality of mmWave and other wireless communication enabled
network devices and/or interfaces that enable communication amongst
a plurality of devices utilizing wireless communication. In this
regard, the mmWave and wireless communication network 10 may
comprise one or more mmWave enabled network devices that enable the
communication traffic and/or control data via a plurality of mobile
communication devices. For example, the mmWave and wireless
communication network 10 may comprise the plurality of access
points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n, which may be operable to provide
access to mmWave and wireless communication network 10 and/or route
communication traffic and/or control data within the mmWave and
wireless communication network 10 for one or more of the plurality
of mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n. The
mmWave and wireless communication network 10 may also be operable
to provide access to the Internet 18 via the service provider
network 14. The mmWave and wireless communication network 10 may
also comprise devices that may be operable to communicate via
wireless wide area network (WWAN), wireless medium area network
(WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal area
network (WPAN) and/or other wireless technologies.
The mmWave and wireless communication network 12 may comprise a
plurality of mmWave and other wireless communication enabled
network devices and/or interfaces that enable communication amongst
a plurality of devices utilizing wireless communication. In this
regard, the mmWave and wireless communication network 12 may
comprise one or more mmWave enabled network devices that enable the
communication traffic and/or control data via a plurality of mobile
communication devices. For example, the mmWave and wireless
communication network 12 may comprise the plurality of access
points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n, which may be operable to provide
access to the mmWave and wireless communication network 12 and/or
route communication traffic and/or control data within the mmWave
and wireless communication network 12 for one or more of the
plurality of mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . ,
42n. The mmWave and wireless communication network 12 may also be
operable to provide access to the Internet 18 via the service
provider network 16. The mmWave and wireless communication network
12 may also comprise devices that may be operable to communicate
via wireless wide area network (WWAN), wireless medium area network
(WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal area
network (WPAN) and/or other wireless technologies.
The service provider network 14 may comprise suitable devices
and/or interfaces that may enable communication devices, which are
communicatively coupled to the mmWave and wireless communication
network 10, to access one or more other networks such as the
Internet 18 and the mmWave and wireless communication network 12.
In this regard, the service provider network 14 may enable the
mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n to access
devices and/or services on the Internet 18. The service provider
network 14 may also enable the mobile communication devices 30a,
30b, 30c, . . . , 30n to access the mmWave and wireless
communication network 12 and communicate with one or more of the
mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n. The
service provider network 16 may enable the mobile communication
devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n to access the mmWave and
wireless communication network 10 and communicate with one or more
of the mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n via
the Internet 18 and the service provider network 14 and/or via the
gateway 20. The service provider network 14 may comprise, for
example, a broadband connectivity (or another distributed mmWave
connectivity) to the mmWave and wireless communication network 10.
In this regard, for example, the service provider network 14 may
comprise a cable service provider, an digital subscriber line (DSL)
or variants thereof service provider, a fiber optic service
provider, a hybrid fiber coaxial service provider, a WWAN service
provider, a WMAN, and/or a satellite service provider
The service provider network 16 may comprise suitable devices
and/or interfaces that may enable communication devices, which are
communicatively coupled to the mmWave and wireless communication
network 12, to access one or more other network such as the
Internet 18 and the mmWave and wireless communication network 10.
In this regard, the service provider network 16 may enable the
mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n to access
devices and/or services on the Internet 18. The service provider
network 16 may enable the mobile communication devices 42a, 42b,
42c, . . . , 42n to access the mmWave and wireless communication
network 10 and communicate with one or more of the mobile
communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n via the Internet
18 and the service provider network 14. The service provider
network 16 may comprise, for example, a broadband or other high
speed connectivity to the mmWave and wireless communication network
12. In this regard, for example, the service provider network 16
may comprise a cable service provider, a digital subscriber line
(DSL) or variants hereof service provider, a fiber optic service
provider, a hybrid fiber coaxial service provider, a WWAN service
provider, a WMAN, and/or a satellite service provider.
The Internet 18 may comprise suitable devices and/or interfaces
that enable the interconnection of a plurality of networks and/or
devices. In this regard, the Internet 18 may enable the
interconnection of the service provider network 14, the service
provider network 16, the mmWave and wireless communication network
10, the mmWave and wireless communication network 12.
Each of the plurality of access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to provide access to the mmWave and wireless
communication network 10 for one or more of the mobile
communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n when they are
within operating range of a corresponding one or more of the
plurality of access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n. In this regard,
each of the plurality of access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n may
comprise a plurality of distributed transceivers such as mmWave
transceivers and/or a plurality of antenna arrays that enable
communication via one or more mmWave technologies and/or
communication protocols. Each of the plurality of access points
26a, 26b, . . . , 26n may also be operable to handle communication
of traffic and/or control data among one or more other access
points in the mmWave and wireless communication network 10, the
coordinating entity 28 and/or the gateway 20. In some embodiments
of the invention, each of the plurality of access points 26a, 26b,
. . . , 26n may communicate with the coordinating entity 28 in
order to handle the routing and/or processing of data for one or
more of the mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . ,
30n.
Each of the plurality of access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to provide access to the mmWave and wireless
communication network 12 for one or more of the mobile
communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n when they are
within operating range of a corresponding one or more of the
plurality of access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n. In this regard,
each of the plurality of access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n may
comprise a plurality of distributed transceivers such as mmWave
transceivers and/or one or more antenna arrays that enable
communication via one or more mmWave technologies and/or
communication protocols. Each of the plurality of access points
36a, 36b, . . . , 36n may also be operable to handle communication
of traffic and/or control data among one or more other access
points in the mmWave and wireless communication network 12, the
coordinating entity 38 and/or the gateways 22, 24. In some
embodiments of the invention, each of the plurality of access
points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n may communicate with the coordinating
entity 38 in order to handle the routing and/or processing of data
for one or more of the mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c,
. . . , 42n.
The coordinating entity 28 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,
interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control, coordinate
and/or manage the handling and routing of traffic and/or control
data within the mmWave and wireless communication network 10. The
coordinating entity 28 may be operable to control the type and/or
amount of links, the number of distributed transceivers,
configuration of the distributed transceivers' interfaces and/or
components including RF front ends and/or antenna arrays, which may
be utilized by one or more of the access points 26a, 26b, . . . ,
26n to handle traffic for one or more of the mobile communication
devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n. The coordinating entity 28 may
be operable to control the allocation and de-allocation of
bandwidth to facilitate communication of traffic in order to
provide and/or guarantee a particular class of service (CoS) and/or
Quality of Service (QoS) for the mobile communication devices 30a,
30b, 30c, . . . , 30n. The coordinating entity 28 may be operable
to coordinate amongst the gateway 20 and/or one or more of the
access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n in order to route traffic to
and from the gateway 20 and the mobile communication devices 30a,
30b, 30c, . . . , 30n. Although the coordinating entity 28 is
illustrated as a separate entity from the gateway 20, and the
access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n, the invention is not
necessarily limited in this regard. Accordingly, the coordinating
entity 28 may be integrated in the gateway 20 or in one of the
access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n. In some embodiments of the
invention, the functionality of the coordinating entity 28 may be
split amongst a plurality of devices such as two or more of the
gateway 20, and/or the access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n.
The coordinating entity 38 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,
interfaces and/or code that may be operable to control, coordinate
and/or manage the handling and routing of traffic and/or control
data within the mmWave and wireless communication network 12. The
coordinating entity 38 may be operable to control the type and/or
amount of links, communication protocols, the number of distributed
transceivers, configuration of the distributed transceivers'
interfaces and/or components including RF front ends and/or antenna
arrays, which may be utilized by one or more of the access points
36a, 36b, . . . , 36n to handle traffic for one or more of the
mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n. The
coordinating entity 38 may be operable to control the allocation
and de-allocation of bandwidth to facilitate communication of
traffic in order to provide and/or guarantee a particular class of
service (CoS) and/or Quality of Service (QoS) for the mobile
communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n. The coordinating
entity 38 may be operable to coordinate amongst the gateways 22, 24
and/or one or more of the access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n in
order to route traffic to and from the gateways 22, 24 and the
mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n. Although
the coordinating entity 38 is illustrated as a separate entity from
the gateways 22, 24, and the access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n,
the invention is not necessarily limited in this regard.
Accordingly, the coordinating entity 38 may be integrated in one of
the gateways 22, 24 or in one of the access points 36a, 36b, . . .
, 36n. In some embodiments of the invention, the functionality of
the coordinating entity 38 may be split amongst a plurality of
devices such as two or more of the gateways 20, 24 and/or the
access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n.
Each of the plurality of mobile communication devices 30a, 30b,
30c, . . . , 30n may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces
and/or code that may be operable to communicate with the service
provider network 14 via the mmWave and wireless communication
network 10. In this regard, each of the plurality of mobile
communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n may comprise a
plurality of distributed transceivers such as mmWave transceiver
devices that may be operable to communicate with the access points
26a, 26b, . . . , 26n in the mmWave and wireless communication
network 10. The plurality of mobile communication devices 30a, 30b,
30c, . . . , 30n may be collectively referenced as mobile
communication devices 30. Each of the plurality of mobile
communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n may be operable to
communicate utilizing, for example, 60 GHz wireless standard,
WirelessHD, WiGig, WiFi IEEE 802.11ad, and/or other mmWave
technology or standard. One or more of the access points 26a, 26b,
. . . , 26n, the coordinating entity 28, and/or the gateway 20 may
be operable to control and/or route traffic to and/or from the one
or more of the mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . ,
30n. In addition to communicating utilizing mmWave technologies,
each of the plurality of mobile communication devices 30a, 30b,
30c, . . . , 30n may comprise one or more transmitter and/or
receiver devices, which may be operable to communicate utilizing
technologies such as, for example, wireless personal area network
(WPAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless medium area
network (WMAN) and/or wireless wide area network (WWAN)
technologies. For example, one or more of the plurality of mobile
communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n may comprise one
or more transmitter and/or receiver devices, which may be operable
to communicate utilizing WiFi, WiMax, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Bluetooth
Low Energy (BLE), 3GPP, 4G LTE, WiMAX or other technologies. In
this regard, radios such as mmWave radios may be utilized at very
high carrier frequencies for high throughput wireless
communications.
The plurality of mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . .
, 42n may be communicatively coupled to the mmWave and wireless
communication network 12. The plurality of mobile communication
devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n may be collectively referenced
as mobile communication devices 42. Each of the plurality of mobile
communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n may be operable to
communicate utilizing, for example, 60 GHz wireless standard,
WirelessHD, WiGig, WiFi IEEE 802.11ad, and/or other mmWave
technology or standard. The plurality of mobile communication
devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n may be communicatively coupled
to the mmWave and wireless communication network 12. In some
exemplary embodiments of the invention, the mobile communication
device 42a may comprise a tablet, the mobile communication device
42b may comprise a Smartphone, the mobile communication device 42cc
may comprise a personal computer PC, laptop or ultrabook, and the
mobile communication device 42n may comprise a television.
The gateway 20 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces
and/or code that are operable to process and/or route traffic
and/or control data between the service provider network 14 and the
mmWave and wireless communication network 10. In this regard, the
gateway 20 may be operable to handle the processing and/or routing
of traffic and/or control data between the service provider network
14 and one or more of the access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n
and/or the coordinating entity 28 for one or more of the plurality
of mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n. The
gateway 20 may comprise, for example, a modulation and/or
demodulation (modem) device that may be operable to provide
modulation and/or demodulation of the information that is
communicated between the service provider network 14 and the mmWave
and wireless communication network 10. For example, the gateway 20
may comprise a cable modem, a DSL modem, a HFC modem, a cable set
top box (STB), a satellite STB and/or other similar type of device.
In general, the gateway 20 may be operable to handle any technology
that may be utilized by one or more of the cable service provider,
the digital subscriber line (DSL) service provider, the fiber optic
service provider, the hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) service provider,
the WWAN service provider, the WMAN, and/or the satellite service
provider. In some embodiments of the invention, the gateway 20 may
comprise server functionality. The gateway 20 may also enable
communication amongst one or more of the mobile communication
devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n and one or more of the mobile
communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n via the mmWave and
wireless communication network 10 and the service provider network
14 and/or via the service providers 14, 16 and the Internet 18.
The gateway 22 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces
and/or code that are operable to process and/or route traffic
and/or control data between the service provider network 14 and the
mmWave and wireless communication network 12. In this regard, the
gateway 22 may be operable to handle the processing and/or routing
of traffic and/or control data between the service provider network
14 and one or more of the access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n
and/or the coordinating entity 38 for one or more of the plurality
of mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n. The
gateway 22 may comprise, for example, a modulation and/or
demodulation (modem) device that may be operable to provide
modulation and/or demodulation of the information that is
communicated between the service provider network 14 and the mmWave
and wireless communication network 12. For example, the gateway 22
may comprise a cable modem, a DSL modem, a HFC modem, a cable set
top box (STB), a satellite STB and/or other similar type of device.
In general, the gateway 22 may be operable to handle any technology
that may be utilized by one or more of the cable service provider,
the digital subscriber line (DSL) service provider, the fiber optic
service provider, the hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) service provider,
the WWAN service provider, the WMAN, and/or the satellite service
provider. In some embodiments of the invention, the gateway 22 may
comprise a server functionality. The gateway 22 may also enable
communication amongst one or more of the mobile communication
devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n and one or more of the mobile
communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n via the mmWave and
wireless communication networks 10, 12 and the service provider
network 14 and/or via the service providers 14, 16 and the Internet
18.
The gateway 24 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces
and/or code that are operable to process and/or route traffic
and/or control data between the service provider network 16 and the
mmWave and wireless communication network 12. In this regard, the
gateway 24 may be operable to handle the processing and/or routing
of traffic and/or control data between the service provider network
16 and one or more of the access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n
and/or the coordinating entity 38 for one or more of the plurality
of mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n. The
gateway 24 may comprise, for example, a modulation and/or
demodulation (modem) device that may be operable to provide
modulation and/or demodulation of the information that is
communicated between the service provider network 16 and the mmWave
and wireless communication network 12. For example, the gateway 24
may comprise a cable modem, a DSL modem, a HFC modem, a cable set
top box (STB), a satellite STB and/or other similar type of device.
In general, the gateway 24 may be operable to handle any technology
that may be utilized by one or more of the cable service provider,
the digital subscriber line (DSL) service provider, the fiber optic
service provider, the hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) service provider,
the WWAN service provider, the WMAN, and/or the satellite service
provider. In some embodiments of the invention, the gateway 24 may
comprise server functionality. The gateway 24 may also enable
communication amongst one or more of the mobile communication
devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n and one or more of the mobile
communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n via the mmWave and
wireless communication networks 10, 12, the service provider
networks 14, 16 and the Internet 18.
In operation, each of the mobile communication devices 30a, 30b,
30c, . . . , 30n, the mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, .
. . , 42n, the access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n and/or the
access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n may be operable to dynamically
configure its distributed transceivers and/or antenna arrays to
operate based on various factors. Exemplary factors comprise link
throughput/reliability requirements and/or budgets, spectrum
availability, propagation conditions, location of reflectors or
refractors in the environment, geometry of the environment,
positions of the transmitter/receivers, link quality, device
capabilities, device locations, usage of resources, resource
availability, target throughput, application QoS requirements
and/or traffic types.
The geometry of the environment may include the presence of
naturally reflective and/or refractive surfaces and/or the presence
of obstructive elements in the environment. A processor in each of
the mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n, the
mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n, the access
points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n and/or the access points 36a, 36b, . .
. , 36n may be operable to dynamically configure and coordinate
operation of the distributed transceivers and/or antenna arrays to
operate in different modes based on the different factors.
Exemplary factors may comprise, for example, propagation
environment conditions, link quality, device capabilities, device
locations, usage of resources, resource availability, target
throughput, and application QoS requirements.
In various embodiments of the invention, a mobile communication
device that has data to be transmitted may dynamically sense the
environment to determine the current characteristics of the
environment. Based on the sensing and/or on one or more of the
factors above, the mobile communication device that has data to be
transmitted may be operable to configure its transmitter and/or
antenna arrays to spread and transmit a narrow beam in one or more
directions, where reflectors, refractors, naturally reflecting
elements and/or naturally refractive elements may create multiple
paths to a receiving mobile communication device. Each
communication path may comprise a different frequency,
polarization, bandwidth, protocol, and/or coding thereby providing
link robustness. The transmitter in a transmitting mobile
communication device may be operable to use the same frequency
channel or different frequency channels to transmit the same data
stream or separate data streams.
In some embodiments of the invention, the coordinating entities 28,
38 may be operable to coordinate the configuration of the
distributed transceivers and/or antenna arrays in one or more of
the mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n, the
mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n, the access
points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n and/or the access points 36a, 36b, . .
. , 36n. In this regard, the coordinating entities 28, 38 may be
operable to dynamically collect information from one or more of the
mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n, the mobile
communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n, the access points
26a, 26b, . . . , 26n and/or the access points 36a, 36b, . . . ,
36n. Based on this collected information and/or one or more
environmental conditions, the coordinating entities 28, 38 may
aggregate the collected information and determine an optimal
configuration for transmitters, receivers and/or antenna array
elements in one or more of the mobile communication devices 30a,
30b, 30c, . . . , 30n, the mobile communication devices 42a, 42b,
42c, . . . , 42n, the access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n and/or
the access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n. The coordinating entities
28, 38 may communicate the determined optimal configuration for the
transmitters, receivers and/or antenna array elements in the
corresponding mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . ,
30n, the mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n,
the access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n and/or the access points
36a, 36b, . . . , 36n. The corresponding mobile communication
devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n, the mobile communication
devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . , 42n, the access points 26a, 26b, . .
. , 26n and/or the access points 36a, 36b, . . . , 36n may then
configure their transmitters, receivers and/or antenna array
elements accordingly. The coordinating entities 28, 38 may be
separate dedicated hardware/software units performing the
coordinating functions. Coordinating entities 28, 38 may be
integrated into another entity in the network and reuse its
hardware/software resources (e.g., embedded in access points 36a,
36b). Furthermore, coordinating entities 28, 38 may be implemented
as all-software entities running on a generic processor or a remote
processor. Furthermore, the functions of coordinating entities 28,
38 may be distributed over several entities in the network.
The reference to 60 GHz wireless connectivity is intended to
include all mmWave frequency bands (any carrier frequency above 10
GHz, e.g., 38.6-40 GHz, 59-67 GHz, 71-76 GHz, 92-95 GHz bands).
Furthermore, all or a subset of embodiments are applicable to
sub-10 GHz carrier frequency operations as well (e.g., 5 GHz and
2.4 GHz ISM bands and UWB 3-10 GHz bands).
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating distributed transceivers
utilized for wireless communication in access points and a mobile
communication device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of
the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, there are shown access points
102, 112, a mobile communication device 129, a coordinating entity
108 and a gateway 110. The access points 102, 112 are also
referenced as AP1 and AP2, respectively. The mobile communication
device 129 is also referenced as M1. Although a single mobile
communication device 129 is shown, the invention is not necessarily
limited in this regard. Accordingly, a plurality of mobile and/or
non-mobile communication devices may also be present without
departing from the spirit and/or scope of the invention.
The access point 102 (AP1) may be substantially similar to any of
the access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n and/or the access points
36a, 36b, . . . , 36n, which are shown and described with respect
to FIG. 1, for example. Notwithstanding, as shown in FIG. 2, the
access point 102 (AP1) may comprise a central processor 106 and a
plurality of distributed transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n.
The distributed transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n may comprise
a corresponding plurality of antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n. The
access point 102 may be communicatively coupled to the coordinating
entity 108 via a communication link 154, which may comprise a
wired, wireless, optical and/or other type of communication link.
The access point 102 may also be communicatively coupled to the
access point 112 via a communication link 158, which may comprise a
wired, wireless, optical and/or other type of communication link.
In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, the access
point 102 may optionally be coupled to the gateway 110 via an
optional direct communication link 157, which may comprise a wired,
wireless, optical, HFC, and/or other type of direct communication
link.
The plurality of distributed transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n
in the access point 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,
interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle communication
utilizing WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WWAN and/or mmWave technologies,
standards and/or protocols.
Each of the plurality of antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n in the
plurality of distributed transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to communicate wireless signals. For example, each of
the plurality of antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n in the plurality
of distributed transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n may be
operable to transmit and/or receive wireless signals corresponding
to the WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WWAN and/or mmWave technologies, standards
and/or protocols.
The central processor 106 in the access point 102 may comprise
suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be
operable to control and/or manage operation of the access point
102. In this regard, the central processor 106 may be operable to
configure and/or manage the communication links that are handled by
the access point 102. For example, the central processor 106 may be
operable to configure and/or manage the communication links 154,
158, and 151a, . . . , 151n. The central processor 106 may be
operable to configure and/or manage the plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and the corresponding antenna
arrays 105a, . . . , 105n, which are in the access point 102. The
central processor 106 may be operable to monitor and/or collect
information from various devices within the access point 102 and
communicate data associated with the monitoring and/or collecting
to the coordinating entity 108. The coordinating entity 108 may
utilize the resulting communicated data to configure the operation
of one or both of the access points 102 and 112. For example, the
coordinating entity 108 may aggregate resulting data received from
the access points 102 and 112 and utilize the corresponding
aggregated data to configure the plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and/or 114a, . . . , 114n,
respectively, and/or the corresponding antenna arrays 105a, . . . ,
105n and/or 115a, . . . , 115n to improve the communication links
151a, . . . , 151n and/or 152. The coordinating entity 108 may also
utilized the corresponding aggregated data to inform the mobile
communication device 129 how to configure, for example, its
plurality of distributed transceivers 133a, . . . , 133n and/or
antenna arrays 134a, . . . , 134n, respectively. The central
processor 106 may operate and/or control the distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n in any of the distributed modes of
operation such as spatial multiplexing, spatial diversity,
frequency multiplexing, frequency diversity, and MIMO processing,
according to embodiments in U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,096,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0094439, U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/473,144, now published as U.S. Patent
Publication 2013-0095747, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,105, now
issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,817,678, U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,160, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0095874,
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,180, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.
8,780,943, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,113, now published as
U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0094544, U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,083, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0095770,
each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
The access point 112 (AP2) may be substantially similar to any of
the access points 26a, 26b, . . . , 26n and/or the access points
36a, 36b, . . . , 36n, which are shown and described with respect
to FIG. 1, for example. Notwithstanding, as shown in FIG. 2, the
access point 112 (AP2) may comprise a central processor 116 and a
plurality of distributed transceiver devices 114a, . . . , 114n.
The plurality of distributed transceiver devices 114a, . . . , 114n
may comprise a corresponding plurality of antenna arrays 115a, . .
. , 115n. The access point 112 may be communicatively coupled to
the coordinating entity 108 via a communication link 156, which may
comprise a wired, wireless, optical and/or other type of
communication link. The access point 112 may also be
communicatively coupled to the access point 102 via the
communication link 158, which may comprise a wired, wireless,
optical and/or other type of communication link. Although not
shown, the access point 112 may also be communicatively coupled to
the gateway 110 via a wired, wireless, optical and/or other type of
communication link.
The plurality of distributed transceiver devices 114a, . . . , 114n
in the access point 112 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,
interfaces and/or code that may be operable to handle communication
utilizing WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WWAN and/or mmWave technologies,
standards and/or protocols.
Each of the plurality of antenna arrays 115a, . . . , 115n in the
plurality of distributed transceiver devices 114a, . . . , 114n may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to communicate wireless signals. For example, each of
the plurality of antenna arrays 115a, . . . , 115n in the plurality
of distributed transceiver devices 114a, . . . , 114n may be
operable to transmit and/or receive wireless signals corresponding
to the WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WWAN and/or mmWave technologies, standards
and/or protocols.
The central processor 116 in the access point 112 may comprise
suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be
operable to control and/or manage operation of the access point
112. In this regard, the central processor 116 may be operable to
configure and/or manage the communication links that are handled by
the access point 112. For example, the central processor 116 may be
operable to configure and/or manage the communication links 156,
158, and 152. The central processor 106 may be operable to
configure and/or manage the plurality of distributed transceivers
114a, . . . , 114n and the corresponding antenna arrays 115a, . . .
, 115n, which are in the access point 112. The central processor
116 may be operable to monitor and/or collect information from
various devices within the access point 112 and communicate data
associated with the monitoring and/or collecting to the
coordinating entity 108. The coordinating entity 108 may utilize
the resulting communicated data to configure the operation of one
or both of the access points 102 and 112. For example, the
coordinating entity 108 may aggregate resulting data received from
the access points 102, 112 and utilize the corresponding aggregated
data to configure the plurality of distributed transceivers 114a, .
. . , 114n and/or the plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, .
. . , 104n, and/or the corresponding antenna arrays 115a, . . . ,
115n and/or 105a, . . . , 105n, respectively, to improve the
communication links 152 and/or 151a, . . . , 151n. The coordinating
entity 108 may also utilize the corresponding aggregated data to
inform the mobile communication device 129 how to configure, for
example, its plurality of distributed transceivers 133a, . . . ,
133n and/or antenna arrays 134a, . . . , 134n.
The mobile communication device 129 (M1) may be substantially
similar to any of the mobile communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, .
. . , 30n, the mobile communication devices 42a, 42b, 42c, . . . ,
42n, which are shown and described with respect to FIG. 1, for
example. Notwithstanding, as shown in FIG. 2, the mobile
communication device 129 may comprise a central processor 131 and a
plurality of distributed transceiver devices 133a, . . . , 133n.
The plurality of distributed transceiver devices 133a, . . . , 133n
may comprise a corresponding plurality of antenna arrays 134a, . .
. , 134n. Although not shown, the mobile communication device 129
may comprise one or more transmitters, receivers and/or
transceivers that may be operable to handle a plurality of wired
and/or wireless communication technologies, standards and/or
protocols. For example, the one or more transmitters, receivers
and/or transceivers may be operable to handle IEEE 802.3, WPAN,
WLAN, WMAN, WWAN and/or mmWave technologies, standards and/or
protocols.
The central processor 131 in the mobile communication device 129
may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that
may be operable to control and/or manage operation of the mobile
communication device 129. In this regard, the central processor 131
may be operable to configure and/or manage the communication links
for the mobile communication device 129. For example, the central
processor 131 may be operable to configure and/or manage the
communication links 153, 151a, . . . , 151n, and 152. The central
processor 131 may be operable to configure and/or manage the
plurality of distributed transceivers 133a, . . . , 133n and the
corresponding antenna arrays 134a, . . . , 134n, which are in the
mobile communication device 129. The central processor 131 may be
operable to monitor and/or collect information from various
devices, for example, other transmitters, receivers and/or
transceivers, within the mobile communication device 129 and
communicate data associated with the monitoring and/or collecting
to the coordinating entity 108. The coordinating entity 108 may
utilize the resulting communicated data to configure the operation
of one or both of the access points 102 and 112. For example, the
coordinating entity 108 may aggregate resulting data received from
the mobile communication device 129 and/or the access points 102,
112 and utilize the corresponding aggregated data to configure the
plurality of distributed transceivers 114a, . . . , 114n and/or the
plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, and/or
the corresponding antenna arrays 115a, . . . , 115n and/or 105a, .
. . , 105n, respectively, to improve the communication links 152,
153, and/or 151a, . . . , 151n. The coordinating entity 108 may
also utilize the corresponding aggregated data to inform the mobile
communication device 129 how to configure, for example, its
plurality of distributed transceivers 133a, . . . , 133n and/or
antenna arrays 134a, . . . , 134n. The central processor 131 may
operate the distributed transceivers 133a, . . . , 133n in any of
the distributed modes of operation such as spatial multiplexing,
spatial diversity, frequency multiplexing, frequency diversity, and
MIMO processing according to embodiments in U.S. application Ser.
No. 13/473,096, now published as U.S. Patent Publication
2013-0094439, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,144, now published
as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0095747, U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,105, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,817,678, U.S. application
Ser. No. 13/473,160, now published as U.S. Patent Publication
2013-0095874, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,180, now issued as
U.S. Pat. No. 8,780,943, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,113, now
published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0094544, U.S. application
Ser. No. 13/473,083, now published as U.S. Patent Publication
2013-0095770, which are hereby incorporated herein my reference in
its entirety.
Each of the plurality of distributed transceiver devices 133a, . .
. , 133n may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or
code that may be operable to handle WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WWAN and/or
mmWave technologies, standards and/or protocols.
Each of the plurality of antenna arrays 134a, . . . , 134n in the
plurality of distributed transceiver devices 133a, . . . , 133n may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to communicate wireless signals. For example, each of
the plurality of antenna arrays 134a, . . . , 134n in the plurality
of distributed transceiver devices 133a, . . . , 133n may be
operable to transmit and/or receive wireless signals corresponding
to the WPAN, WLAN, WMAN, WWAN and/or mmWave technologies, standards
and/or protocols.
The coordinating entity 108 may be substantially similar to any of
the coordinating entities 28, 38, which are shown and described
with respect to FIG. 1, for example. Notwithstanding, as shown in
FIG. 2, the coordinating entity 108 may comprise a processor 108a,
memory 108b, a wireless interface 108c and a wired interface 108d.
Although not shown, the coordinating entity 108 may comprise other
interfaces such as an optical interface, a HFC interface and/or
other communication interfaces. The coordinating entity 108 may be
communicatively coupled to the access points 102 (AP1), 112 (AP2)
via the communication links 154, 156, respectively. The
communication links 154, 156 may comprise wired, wireless
(cellular, WLAN, WiMax, LTE), optical, HFC, point-to-point, and/or
other types of communication links. The link between the
coordinating entity 108 and access points 102, 112 may be utilized
to transport both control data (settings, reports, configurations)
as well as traffic comprising data streams intended for the user of
mobile communication device 129.
The coordinating entity 108 may utilize the communication links
154, 156 to handle different data traffic categories. For example,
the communication links 154 and/or 156 may be utilized to transport
control information and/or commands between the coordinating entity
108 and the access point 102 and/or access point 112, respectively.
The communication links 154 and/or 156 may be utilized to transport
information bits intended for and/or generated by the mobile
communication device 129. The communication links 154 and/or 156
may be utilized to transport raw analog to digital conversion (ADC)
and/or digital to analog conversion (DAC) data between the access
points 102, 112 and the central processors 106, 116 in the access
points 102, 112, respectively. In this mode of operation, in order
to enhance performance, communication and/or signal processing
operations required to decode data (e.g., equalization, MIMO
processing, demodulation, channel decoding) may be performed
jointly at coordinating entity 108 on the combination of ADC
samples received from access points 102 and 112.
The coordinating entity 108 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,
interfaces and/or code that may be operable to coordinate and/or
manage operation of the access points 102, 112, the gateway 110
and/or the mobile communication device 129. For example, the
coordinating entity 108 may be operable to coordinate operation of
the access points 102, 112 in order to maximize and/or optimize the
system performance within a mmWave and wireless communication
network such as the mmWave and wireless communication networks 10,
12. The coordinating entity may be located in the access point 102,
the access point 112, the gateway 110, or in a separate device
location. In some embodiments of the invention, the functions
performed by the access point 112 may be split among a plurality of
devices. For example, one or more of the functions performed by the
coordinating entity 108 may be split amongst two or more of the
access point 102, the access point 112 and/or the gateway 110. In
some embodiments of the invention, the coordinating entity 108 may
reside in a remote location and/or may be hosted remotely.
The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to manage the
combination of transceiver resources within the access points 102,
112 and maximize or optimize the performance of the corresponding
wireless links 151a, . . . , 151n and 152 from the combination of
the plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and
114a, . . . , 114n in the access points 102, 112, respectively, to
the mobile communication device 129. In accordance with various
embodiments of the invention, the coordinating entity 108 may be
operable to provide coordinate operation of the plurality of
distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and 114a, . . . , 114n
in the access points 102, 112, respectively, to provide, for
example, spatial multiplexing, spatial diversity, frequency
diversity, frequency multiplexing, multiple input multiple output
(MIMO) processing. In this regard, the coordinating entity 108 may
be operable to combine or aggregate transceiver resources in the
access points 102, 112 in order to program or configure the
resulting pooled transceiver resources to provide better
performance over the communication links 151a, . . . , 151n and
152. The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to program or
configure the resulting pooled transceiver resources to provide
different levels of coordination based on system restrictions
and/or capabilities and/or based on channel characteristics, QoS,
CoS, traffic type and so on.
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,160, which was filed May 16, 2012,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0095874, discloses
details of a method and system for providing diversity in a network
of distributed transceivers with array processing and is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirely.
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,180, which was filed May 16, 2012,
now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,780,943, discloses details of a
method and system that utilizes multiplexing in a network of
distributed transceivers with array processing and is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirely.
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,113, which was filed May 16, 2012,
now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0094544, discloses
details of a method and system that utilizes MIMO communication in
a network of distributed transceivers with array processing and is
hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirely.
The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to determine the
optimal beamforming patterns and modes of operation, which may be
best for the access point 102, the access point 112 and/or the
mobile communication device 129. Exemplary modes of operation may
comprise spatial multiplexing, spatial diversity and frequency
diversity. Once the coordinating entity 108 determines the
beamforming patterns and/or modes of operation, the coordinating
entity 108 may be operable to communicate corresponding information
to the access point 102, the access point 112 and/or the mobile
communication device 129. The access point 102, the access point
112 and/or the mobile communication device 129 may utilize the
corresponding information to configure its plurality of distributed
transceivers and/or antenna arrays accordingly. The coordinating
entity 108 may be operable to configure the beam patterns for the
access point 102 by taking into account the beam patterns that may
be utilized by the access point 112 and/or the mobile communication
device 129 in order to mitigate cross interference between the data
streams for the access point 102 and the access point 112.
The processor 108a in the coordinating entity 108 may comprise
suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be
operable to execute the operations of the coordinating entity
108.
The memory 108b in the coordinating entity 108 may comprise
suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may be
operable to store operating data, control information and/or data,
which may be utilized by the coordinating entity 108.
The wireless interface 108c in the coordinating entity 108 may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to handle communication between the coordinating entity
108 and the gateway 110, the access point 102 and/or the access
point 112. In some embodiments of the invention, in instances where
the mobile communication device 129 may be within operating range
of the coordinating entity 108, the mobile communication device 129
may be operable to communicate with the coordinating entity 108
via, for example, the wireless interface 108c.
The wired interface 108d in the coordinating entity 108 may
comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces and/or code that may
be operable to handle communication between the coordinating entity
108 and the gateway 110, the access point 102 and/or the access
point 112.
The gateway 110 may be substantially similar to any of the gateways
20, 22, 24, which are shown and described with respect to FIG. 1,
for example. Notwithstanding, as shown in FIG. 2, the gateway 110
may be communicatively coupled to the coordinating entity 108 via
the link 155. The link 155 may comprise a wired and/or wireless
communication link. In this regard, the wired interface 108d and/or
the wireless interface 108c may be operable to handle communication
via the communication link 155. The gateway 110 may be coupled to
one or more service provider networks, for example, the service
provider networks 14, 16, which are illustrated in and described
with respect to FIG. 1, for example. In accordance with some
embodiments of the invention, the gateway 110 may optionally be
coupled to the access point 102 via an optional direct
communication link 157. The optional direct communication link 157
may comprise a wired, wireless, optical, HFC, and/or other type of
direct communication link.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the distributed transceiver devices 104a,
. . . , 104n and 114a, . . . , 114n are integrated in separate
physical devices such as the access points 102, 112, respectively.
The access point 102 comprises a plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and the access point 112 comprises
a plurality of access points 114a, . . . , 114n. Although the
plurality of distributed transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n and
114a, . . . , 114n are shown as integrated in separate physical
devices such as the access points 102, 112, respectively, the
invention is not necessarily limited in this regard, accordingly,
in some embodiments of the invention, the plurality of distributed
transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n and 114a, . . . , 114n may
be integrated in a single physical device such as the access point
102 or the access point 112.
In some embodiments of the invention, the coordinating entity 108
may be operable to coordinate the operation of the access point 102
and the access point 112 as a single virtual access point entity.
In other words, the coordinating entity 108 may combine the
plurality of distributed transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n and
114a, . . . , 114n and treat the combined plurality of distributed
transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n and 114a, . . . , 114n as
the single virtual access point entity. In this regard, the mobile
communication device 129 may be operable to access one or more of
the combined plurality of distributed transceiver devices 104a, . .
. , 104n and 114a, . . . , 114n in the single virtual access point
entity without knowledge that the combined plurality of distributed
transceiver devices 104a, . . . , 104n and 114a, . . . , 114n are
in separate physical access points, namely, access points 102, 112.
The combined plurality of distributed transceiver devices 104a, . .
. , 104n and 114a, . . . , 114n in the single virtual access point
entity may provide, for example, more reliable service and higher
throughput or bandwidth to the mobile communication device 129 than
one or both of the access points 102, 112 since the resulting
communication resources are coordinated as one by the coordinating
entity 108.
The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to dynamically monitor
and/or analyze the link quality (e.g., SNR or capacity) between the
different transceivers within the access points 102, 112 and the
mobile communication device 129. The link quality may be determined
based on the signal to noise ratio (SNR), signal to interference
noise ratio (SINR), carrier to noise interference ratio (CINR),
link capacity, throughput, bit error rate (BER), packet error rate
(PER) and/or other parameters. The coordinating entity 108 may be
operable to allocate, de-allocate, reallocate, distribute and/or
redistribute the overall capacity and/or throughput target to
optimize communication by the access points 102, the access point
112 and/or the mobile communication device 129. In this regard, the
coordinating entity 108 may be operable to communicate information
to the central processors 106, 116 and the central processors 106,
116 may utilize this information to configure the corresponding
plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and/or
114a, . . . , 114n and/or the antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n
and/or 115a, . . . , 115n in the access point 102 and access point
112, respectively.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, in instances where a
transceiver, for example, transceiver 104a, within the access point
102 may experience a good channel condition (high SNR), a higher
throughput data stream may be passed through the transceiver 104a
for communication with the mobile mmWave enable communication
device 129.
In various embodiments of the invention, capacity distribution
techniques such as water filling may also be utilized to optimize
communication. In the water filling method, overall throughput to
mobile mmWave enable communication device 129 may be partitioned
and/or distributed over a plurality of different communication
paths or communication links via the access point 102, 112 and/or
one or more of the corresponding plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and/or 114a, . . . , 114n. The
coordinating entity 108 and/or the central processors 106, 116 in
the access points 102, 112, respectively, may be operable to
determine the quality of each of the communication paths or
communication links. The communication paths or communication links
with higher SNR may be configured by the coordinating entity 108
and/or the central processors 106, 116 to carry a higher portion of
the overall throughput while the communication paths or
communication links with poorer SNR may be configured to carry a
smaller portion of the overall traffic. The coordinating entity 108
may be operable to determine that the one or more of the plurality
of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and/or 114a, . . . ,
114n and/or the antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n and/or 115a, . .
. , 115n should be configured to operate in a multiplexing mode and
that one or more remaining ones of the plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and/or 114a, . . . , 114n and/or
the antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n and/or 115a, . . . , 115n
should be configured to operate in a spatial and/or frequency
diversity mode. In the multiplexing mode of operation, each of the
plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and/or
114a, . . . , 114n in the access points 102, 112, respectively, may
be configured to transmit a different data stream to the mobile
communication device 129. In the spatial diversity mode and/or the
frequency diversity mode of operation, each of the plurality of
distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and/or 114a, . . . ,
114n in the access points 102, 112, respectively, may be configured
to transmit the same data stream in order to achieve better
reliability and/or quality of transmission. With no loss of
generality, the following depicts an example for rate distribution
over multiple access points. The coordinating entity realizes
effective SNR values of a1.times.P1, a2.times.P2, a3.times.P3
corresponding to links 151n, 151a, and 152, respectively. P1, P2,
and P3 represent the transmit power used for links 151n, 151a, and
152, respectively. Finally, a1, a2, a3 are scaling factors that are
functions of the propagation environment (path loss, antenna
pattern gains, etc). A larger scaling factor represents a link with
higher quality. Now, different rate distribution policies may be
used by the coordinating entity 108 to provide a total combined
capacity or throughput C0 to mobile device 129. If C1, C2, C3
represent the partial throughput over links 151n, 151a, and 152
respectively, then C0=C1+C2+C3 where partial capacities may be
modeled (or approximated) as C1=K.times.log(1+a1.times.P1),
C2=K.times.log(1+a2.times.P2), C3=K.times.log(1+a3.times.P3), where
K is a constant factor. Then the optimization problem is to find a
combination of P1, P2, P3 that optimize a cost/merit function
(e.g., minimize sum power P1+P2+P3) for a given total achieved
capacity C0. The above is one exemplary policy and other policies
may be employed or adopted without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. Other variations may also be adopted.
The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to determine whether
different beamforming methodologies may be utilized for different
ones of the plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . ,
104n and/or 114a, . . . , 114n in the access points 102, 112,
respectively. In this regard, the coordinating entity 108 may be
operable to determine that a narrower or a sharper beam pattern may
be utilized by distributed transceivers with higher throughput
streams, and a wider beam pattern may be utilized by transceivers
with lower throughput data streams and/or data streams that may
require higher fidelity. For example, the coordinating entity 108
may determine that the access point 102 should configure the
distributed transceiver 104a with a wide beam pattern to
accommodate a low throughput stream (but with higher fidelity) and
configure the distributed transceiver 104n with a narrow sharp beam
pattern to accommodate a high throughput stream.
The backhaul connection from the access points 102, 112 may
comprise a wired, wireless, optical and/or other type of
connection. For example, the communication links 154, 156, 157 are
backhaul communication links that provide access to resources
and/or services on the Internet 18 (FIG. 1) via the gateway 110. In
an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the mobile communication
device 129 may want to download data from an external resource such
as a database in the server 18a on the Internet 18. The
coordinating entity 108 may be operable to split the corresponding
traffic from the server 18a to the mobile communication device 129
into a plurality of data streams. The coordinating entity 108 may
be operable to route a portion of the corresponding data stream
from the server 18a to the access point 102 while a remaining
portion of the corresponding data stream may be routed from the
server 18a to the access point 112 via the gateway 110 and one or
more of the backhaul communication links 154, 156, 157. In this
regard, the mobile communication device 129 may be operable to
reconstruct the original downloaded data stream by aggregating the
different portions of the corresponding data streams that are
received via the access points 102, 112.
The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to control various
operations, functions and/or resources of the access points 102,
112. In this regard, the coordinating entity 108 may be operable to
control and/or manage the configuration and/or reconfiguration of
the various operations, functions and/or resources of the access
points 102, 112. The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to
control and/or manage, for example, the various modes of operation,
beam patterns, and/or the data splitting ratio between or among a
plurality of access points such as the access points 102, 112. The
coordinating entity 108 may be operable to control various
operations, functions and/or resources of the access points 102,
112 in a static manner and/or in a dynamic manner as, for example,
the channel conditions and/or throughput demands change. The static
and/or dynamic control of the various operations, functions and/or
resources of the access points 102, 112 may be applied on, for
example, a packet-by-packet, frame-by-frame, and/or
session-by-session basis.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, for a frame-by-frame
operation, for a current frame, the coordinating entity 108 may
configure the access point 102 to communicate data to the mobile
communication device 129 utilizing a first carrier frequency and
modulation scheme such as LTE over a 2 GHz carrier frequency. For
the subsequent frame, the coordinating entity 108 may reconfigure
the access point 102 to communicate data to the mobile
communication device 129 utilizing a second carrier frequency and
modulation scheme such as, OFDM over a 60 GHz carrier
frequency.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, for a frame-by-frame
operation, for a current frame, the coordinating entity 108 may
configure the access point 102 to communicate data to the mobile
communication device 129 utilizing a first carrier frequency and
modulation scheme such as LTE over a 2 GHz carrier frequency. For
the subsequent frame, the coordinating entity 108 may configure the
access point 112 to communicate data to the mobile communication
device 129 utilizing a second carrier frequency and modulation
scheme such as, OFDM over a 60 GHz carrier frequency.
In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, for a
session-by-session operation, for a current communication session,
the coordinating entity 108 may configure the access point 102 to
communicate data to the mobile communication device 129 utilizing a
first carrier frequency and modulation scheme such as LTE over a 2
GHz carrier frequency. For the subsequent communication session,
the coordinating entity 108 may reconfigure the access point 102 to
communicate data to the mobile communication device 129 utilizing a
second carrier frequency and modulation scheme such as, OFDM over a
60 GHz carrier frequency.
In another exemplary another embodiment of the invention, for a
session-by-session operation, for a current communication session,
the coordinating entity 108 may configure the access point 102 to
communicate data to the mobile communication device 129 utilizing a
first carrier frequency and modulation scheme such as, LTE over a 2
GHz carrier frequency. For the subsequent communication session,
the coordinating entity 108 may configure the access point 112 to
communicate data to the mobile communication device 129 utilizing a
second carrier frequency and modulation scheme such as, OFDM over a
60 GHz carrier frequency.
The point at which the session may be transferred from one access
point to another access point may be determined by the coordinating
entity 108 based on, for example, location information of mobile
communication device 129 and/or the access points 102, 112. In some
embodiments of the invention, the location of one or more
reflecting and/or refracting objects and/or structures within the
communication environment may be utilized by the coordinating
entity 108 to determine the characteristics of the beams and/or the
transceiver settings that should be utilized in order to optimize
communication.
The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to utilize the
locations of the mobile communication device 129, the access point
102 and/or the access point 112 in order to provide an initial
configuration of network parameters and/or settings for the
distributed transceivers beam patterns and directions, power
levels, individual stream data rates, and so on. The coordinating
entity 108 may also operate in an adaptive manner in which it may
be trained over time as it builds up a history of good settings for
different locations, different devices, different environmental
conditions and so on, as more users connect to the communication
network.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, it may be assumed that
the mobile communication device 129 is located at a position
specified by the coordinates (x1, y1, z1) and/or its spatial
orientation. The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to utilize
various positioning techniques, such as triangulation for example,
in order to estimate the position and/or orientation of the mobile
communication device 129. The coordinating entity 108 may be
operable to utilize various training and estimation/optimization
methods to determine the optimal configuration and/or settings for
the plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, 114a,
. . . , 114n, and/or the antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n, 115a, .
. . , 115n in the network that may deliver the best capacity and/or
performance to the mobile communication device 129. These settings
may comprise, for example, activate access points, activate
transceivers, beam-forming settings, transmit power levels for each
of the plurality of distributed transceivers, orientation of the
antenna arrays and/or corresponding antenna array elements, and so
on. The coordinating entity 108 may be operable to store these
optimal settings along with the location data (eg x1, y1, z1) in a
database within the memory 108b. The next time that the
coordinating entity 108 is establishing a connection with another
mobile communication device, which may be located at or near (x1,
y1, z1), it uses the optimal settings stored from previous
connections as a good starting point to greatly speed up the
connection setup and its optimization. The database, which may be
stored in the memory 108b, may also be utilized by the system to
improve the accuracy of location finding algorithms over time. In
this case, the reverse of the above procedure may be utilized for
positioning improvement. The coordinating entity 108 utilizes the
close correlation between location and optimal settings to map
optimal settings to a location value. For example, the coordinating
entity 108 may be operable to store, in the database in the memory
108b, information, which indicates that for the mobile
communication device 129 at location (x1, y1, z1), the optimal
network settings (eg S1) leads to the best link performance. In
instances where the coordinating entity 108 establishes a link with
another mobile communication device, and after iterations of
settings, for example, optimizing beam patterns, power levels,
antenna array orientation, and so on, the optimal settings converge
to the value S1 in the database, the coordinating entity 108 may be
operable to conclude that the mobile communication device is within
the vicinity of location (x1, y1, z1). The information stored in
the database in the memory 108b may be based on ongoing
measurements and analysis of current and/or stored data.
Different location techniques may be utilized by the system for the
above purpose. Exemplary location techniques may comprise global
navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as global positioning
system (GPS), triangulation, and/or a known location of a
neighboring device such as a WiFi access point. Additionally, the
location data may be utilized by the coordinating entity 108 to
identify a possible set of distributed transceivers that may be
better suited for multi-stream operations, such as multiplexing in
the same frequency channel, by demonstrating good phase condition
properties.
The role of the coordinating entity 108 in configuring resources,
for example the initial settings and/or carrier frequencies, may be
shared or combined with the role of a medium access controller
(MAC). In other words, the information collected and/or utilized by
the coordinating entity 108 may also be used by the MAC controller
to improve other MAC functionalities.
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the data demodulation
(digital processing of sampled data by analog-to-digital
converters) may be performed by each central baseband processors
106, 116, which may be located within the access points 102, 112,
respectively. The final information data streams, after signal
processing and decoding are done, may be communicated from the
access points 102, 112. This may minimize the backhaul throughput
out of the access points 102, 112.
In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, the raw data out
of analog-digital converters corresponding to different distributed
transceivers within the access points 102, 112 or the data after
some partial digital signal processing, may be transported to the
coordinating entity 108 for processing. The coordinating entity 108
may be operable to complete the remaining digital and/or baseband
processing on the samples collected from one or more of the
distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, 114a, . . . , 114n
within access points 102, 112, respectively. This configuration may
require a higher throughput for the backhaul communication links
154, 156 from access points 102, 112 to the coordinating entity 108
as raw data is being communication over the backhaul links 154,
156. This may be suitable in instances when the backhaul
communication links 154, 156 between the access points 102, 112 and
the coordinating entity 108 comprise a very high throughput such as
optical links and/or high throughput Ethernet connections. In
return, the coordinating entity 108 may be operable to perform
joint processing and/or decoding of the streams that are captured
by the various spatially-separated plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, 114a, . . . , 114n within access
points 102, 112, respectively. This access to raw samples may be
exploited to achieve a higher link performance. For example, in the
distributed transceiver 104a in the access point 102 and the
distributed transceiver 114a in the access point 112 are configured
to receive the same data stream from mobile communication device
129, the coordinating entity 108 may process the captured samples
from the plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, 114a jointly
in an optimal fashion, for example, maximal ratio combining (MRC)
after co-phasing the two corresponding sequence of samples. The
joint processing may be extended to other modes of operation such
as spatial multiplexing, spatial diversity, frequency diversity,
multiple input multiple output (MIMO) processing, and so on.
In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, phase
condition optimization (e.g.,
.theta..sub.12-.theta..sub.11+.theta..sub.21-.theta..sub.22=(2n+1).times.-
180.degree.) may be performed over a plurality of distributed
transceivers such as the distributed transceivers 104a, 114a in the
access points 102, 112. This may be useful when attempts to achieve
the phase condition between the distributed transceivers within a
single access point becomes difficult due to the particular spatial
separation of the distributed transceivers within the single access
point. In such instances, the coordinating entity 108 may be
operable to identify distributed transceivers across a plurality of
devices such as the access points 102, 112, which may be operable
to better to meet the optimal phase condition requirements. The
coordinating entity 108 is operable to collect the samples from the
corresponding distributed transceivers, for example distributed
transceivers 104a, 114a, in different access points 102, 112 and
performs the joint processing of the corresponding sequences in
order to maximize the multiplexed capacity and/or throughput.
In some embodiments of the invention, the mobile communication
device 129 may be operable to receive its overall target data
stream through aggregation of partial streams, which may be
transmitted concurrently over a plurality of different
access-points. For example, the mobile communication device 129 may
be operable to receive the overall target data stream through
aggregation of partial streams, which may be transmitted
concurrently from the access point 102 and the access point 112.
The mobile communication device 129 may be operable to receive its
overall target data stream from the same distributed transceivers
within the access point 102 and the access point 112 and/or from
different distributed transceivers within the access point 102 and
the access point 112. In instances where the spatial multiplexing
mode is utilized, the corresponding partial data streams may be
communicated over the same frequency by relying on the spatial
separation of the access points 102, 112 and/or the beam pattern
separations associated with antenna arrays for the corresponding
distributed transceivers. In spatial multiplexing mode, the
coordinating entity may monitor the cross-interference between all
these concurrent co-channel links 151n, 151a, 152, 153 (due to
cross-leakage between the antenna patterns). As long as antenna
patterns can be adjusted to keep the cross-interference below a
threshold, the coordinating entity 108 continues operating the
network in spatial multiplexing mode (for maximal frequency reuse).
If cross-interference is no longer avoidable (due to position of
devices and directions of arrival), the coordinating entity 108 may
decide to switch to frequency multiplexing to prevent a drop in
throughput. If the frequency multiplexing mode is used, those
partial data streams are sent over different carrier frequencies
(at the same time). As another example, a hybrid combination may be
configured by the coordinating entity 108 where links 151a and 152
are operated in the same frequency (since spatial separation is
sufficiently large due to angles of arrival difference), but link
151n is operated at a different frequency than link 151a (since the
cross-interference is expected to be large given the positions of
the devices). Similarly, methods and policies may be adopted to
operate the distributed transceivers in the modes of spatial
multiplexing, spatial diversity, frequency multiplexing, frequency
diversity, and MIMO processing, according to embodiments in U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/473,096, now published as U.S. Patent
Publication 2013-0094439, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,144, now
published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0095747, U.S. application
Ser. No. 13/473,105, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,817,678, U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/473,160, now published as U.S. Patent
Publication 2013-0095874, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,180, now
issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,780,943, U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,113, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0094544,
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,083, now published as U.S. Patent
Publication 2013-0095770, which are hereby incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating distributed transceivers
utilized for wireless communication in access points where the
access points utilize different link protocols and/or operating
modes, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3, there are shown access points 102, 112, a mobile
communication device 129, a coordinating entity 108 and a gateway
110. The access points 102, 112, the mobile communication device
129, the coordinating entity 108 and the gateway 110 may be
substantially similar to the corresponding components, which are
shown in and described with respect to FIG. 2, for example. The
components within each of the access points 102, 112, the mobile
communication device 129 and the coordinating entity 108 may be
substantially similar to the corresponding components, which are
shown in and described with respect to FIG. 2, for example. The
communication links 151a, . . . , 151n, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156,
157 and 158 may be substantially similar to the corresponding
components, which are shown in and described with respect to FIG.
2, for example.
The access point 102 may also comprise a network management engine
(NME) 107. The network management engine 107 may be operable to
manage communication resources within the access point 102. The
network management engine 107 may be operable to coordinate
managing of the communication resources for the access point 102
with the coordinating entity 108 and/or the network management
engine 117 in the access point 112.
The access point 112 may also comprise a network management engine
117. The network management engine 117 may be operable to manage
communication resources within the access point 112. The network
management engine 117 may be operable to coordinate managing of the
communication resources for the access point 112 with the
coordinating entity 108 and/or the network management engine 107 in
the access point 102.
The coordinating entity 108 may also comprise an optional network
management engine 108e. The optional network management engine 108e
may be operable to coordinate, oversee and/or manage the operation
of one or more of the network management engines in the network.
For example, the optional network management engine 108e may be
operable to coordinate, oversee and/or manage operation of the
network management engine 107 in the access point 102 and/or the
network management engine 117 in the access point 112. In this
regard, the optional network management engine 108e may be operable
to coordinate operation of the communication resources within the
access points 102, 112. In general, some or all of the functions
that are handled by the network management engines 107, 117 may be
coordinated by the network management engine 108e. The optional
network management engine 108e may be operable to utilize
information from the gateway 110, the access point 102, the access
point 112, the mobile communication device 129, and/or from within
the coordinating entity 108 to coordinate, oversee and/or manage
the operation of one or more of the network management engines in
network.
In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the
distributed transceivers within a unit or device such as the access
points 102, 112 and/or the mobile communication device 129 may be
operable to support different carrier frequencies and/or modulation
schemes through the same distributed transceiver implementation. In
some embodiments of the invention, some of the distributed
transceivers within a unit or device such as the access points 102,
112 and/or the mobile communication device 129 may be enabled to
operate at certain carrier frequency ranges and/or utilize certain
modulation schemes, while other distributed transceivers within the
unit or device may be enabled to operate at other carrier frequency
ranges and/or utilize different modulation schemes.
In various exemplary embodiment of the invention, the distributed
transceiver 104a and the distributed transceiver 104n, which are
both within the access point 102, may be operable to utilize
different carrier frequencies and/or modulation schemes. As
illustrated in FIG. 3, the distributed transceiver 104a may be
operable to utilize a lower carrier frequency such as 2 GHz based
on cellular, such as LTE, or WLAN modulation and/or constellations
and protocols such as code division multiple access (CDMA) and
variants thereof, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)
in 2 GHz carrier frequency with different channel bandwidths, for
example, 5 MHz, 10 MHz and/or 20 MHz. Other distributed
transceivers in the access point 102 or the access point 112 may be
operable to utilize higher carrier frequencies such as 60 GHz based
on WiGig, 802.11ad modulations, constellations, and/or protocols,
for example, single-carrier modulation or OFDM. In an exemplary
embodiment of the invention, the distributed transceiver 114a in
the access point 112 may be operable to utilize a 60 GHz WiGig
modulation, constellations, and/or protocols. In some embodiments
of the invention, the access points 102, 112 may comprise
reconfigurable and/or programmable components, which may be
reconfigured and/or programmed to support higher and/or lower
carrier frequencies and/or different modulation, constellations
and/or protocols over the same distributed transceivers. Different
multi-mode management schemes may also be utilized.
Each of the network management engines 107, 117 in the access
points 102, 112, respectively, may be operable to manage the
resources within each of the corresponding access points 102, 112.
For example, the network management engine 107 in the access point
102 may be operable to manage, for example, the carrier
frequencies, beam patterns, protocols and/or modulation schemes
that are utilized by the plurality of distributed transceivers
104a, . . . , 104n, which are located in the access point 102.
Similarly, the network management engine 117 in the access point
112 may be operable to manage, for example, the carrier
frequencies, beam patterns, protocols and/or modulation schemes
that are utilized by the plurality of distributed transceivers
114a, . . . , 114n, which are located in the access point 112.
Although network management engines are shown only in the access
points 102, 112, and the coordinating entity 108, the invention is
not necessarily limited in this regard. Accordingly, a network
management engine may reside in other components within the
network. For example, a network management engine may be located in
the gateway 110. In cases where a close coordination is desired or
required between the network management engines 107, 117, the
optional network management engine 108e may be operable to
coordinate operation of the distributed network management engines
107, 117, which may be located in the access points 102, 112,
respectively. The network management engines 107, 117 and/or the
optional network management engine 108e may be operable to
dynamically and/or adaptively reassign and/or reactivate
transceiver resources in the access points 102, 112 to different
carrier frequencies, modulation schemes and/or protocol schemes.
Based on propagation conditions and throughput demands, the network
management engines 107, 117 and/or the optional network management
engine 108e may be operable to reconfigure the plurality of
distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and/or 114a, . . . ,
114n, which are located in the access points 102, 112,
respectively.
In some cases, one or more of the network management engines 107,
117 and/or the optional network management engine 108e may be
operable to configure and/or activate some of the plurality of
distributed transceivers of the transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n and
114a, . . . , 114n, which are located in the access points 102,
112, respectively, to operate at lower carrier frequencies while
others of the plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . ,
104n and 114a, . . . , 114n may be configured and/or activated to
operate at higher carrier frequencies. Accordingly, one or more of
the network management engines 107, 117 and/or the optional network
management engine 108e may be operable to optimize the overall link
throughput and/or performance for the data being transported and/or
aggregated over the plurality of carrier frequencies.
In instances when one or more of the network management engines
107, 117 and/or the optional network management engine 108e may
configure one or more the plurality of distributed transceivers
104a, . . . , 104n and 114a, . . . , 114n to operate at, for
example, a 2 GHz carrier frequency and there may be a request for
higher capacity and/or throughput, one or more of the network
management engines, 107, 117 and/or the optional network management
engine 108e may be operable to establish additional streams over,
for example, a 60 GHz carrier frequency, in parallel, utilizing
additional available transceiver resources. In some instances, one
or more of the network management engines, for example, the network
management engines 107, 117 and/or the optional network management
engine 108e may be operable to reassign at least a portion of the
resources used for 2 GHz carrier frequency to the 60 GHz carrier
frequency and provide the requested capacity over at least a
portion of the 60 GHz carrier frequencies. In this regard, there
may be instances when one or more of the network management
engines, for example, the network management engines 107, 117
and/or the optional network management engine 108e may be operable
to reassign all of the resources used for 2 GHz carrier frequency
to the 60 GHz carrier frequency and provide the requested capacity
over only the 60 GHz carrier frequencies.
In some embodiments of the invention, the network management engine
107, the network management engine 117 and/or the optional network
management engine 108e may be operable to assign different traffic
types and/or class of traffic for transporting over different
carrier frequencies depending on the requirements of each traffic
type and/or class. For example, critical but low throughput control
traffic may be assigned to be transported over lower carrier
frequencies, for example, LTE in the 2 GHz carrier frequency range,
while high throughput video streaming traffic may be assigned to be
transported concurrently over higher carrier frequencies such as
one or more mmWave links in the 60 GHz carrier frequency range.
Similarly, in order to provide a particular QoS (latency for
voice/video over IP) to the mobile communication device 129 and/or
to handle specific CoS traffic (voice, browsing data, video, etc),
the network management engine 107, the network management engine
117 and/or the optional network management engine 108e may be
operable to assign corresponding traffic for transporting over
different carrier frequencies.
In a location-based allocation of resources mode of operation, the
network management engine 107, the network management engine 117
and/or the optional network management engine 108e may be operable
to utilize the location and/or orientation of the mobile
communication device 129 and/or the locations of one or more of the
access points 102, 112 to determine the carrier frequencies to
activate and/or utilize to provide the requested link throughput.
The network management engine 107, the network management engine
117 and/or the optional network management engine 108e may be
operable to utilize past history of link quality per carrier
frequency versus the corresponding location of a mobile
communication device such as the mobile communication device 129 to
determine the carrier frequencies to activate and/or utilize the
requested link throughput. Locations with history of good 60 GHz
propagation conditions may utilize one or more of 60 GHz carrier
frequencies. Locations with poorer 60 GHz propagation properties
may rely more on lower carrier frequencies such as LTE at 2 GHz
carrier frequency. In some embodiments of the invention, additional
sensors may be used to sense and/or acquire other data from the
environment and that other data may be utilized to establish the
link from better initial settings for the plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, and 114a, . . . , 114n. The sensed
and/or acquired data may comprise, for example, time, date,
temperature, atmospheric conditions, and so on. The history and
location information may be stored in the memory 108b of the
coordinating entity 108. A combination of coarse and fine
positioning methods may be utilized. A coarse method (e.g., based
on WiFi signal) may be used for quick initialization of settings,
followed by a finer method (e.g., based on mmWave signal) for
tuning the settings.
In a price-based allocation of resources mode of operation, the
network management engine 107, the network management engine 117,
the optional network management engine 108e and/or network operator
may utilize a pricing scheme for allocation of carrier frequencies.
While certain carrier frequencies can be allocated and/or utilized
for users requesting free service, other carrier frequencies, for
example, carrier frequencies with better quality, throughput,
latency and/or capacity characteristics, may be allocated for
premium users or users that are paying a fee. In some embodiments
of the invention, the activation of higher quality services, for
example, through certain carrier frequencies may be done by users
on a per-demand basis. In such cases, the user may activate an
application running on a communication device such as one of the
communication devices 30a, 30b, 30c, . . . , 30n, 42a, 42b, 42c, .
. . , 42n to enable a higher quality service. The higher quality
service may require a higher payment by the user.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating distributed transceivers
utilized for wireless communication in access points where the
access points utilize wireless backhaul links, in accordance with
an exemplary embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4, there are shown
access points 102, 112, a mobile communication device 129, a
coordinating entity 108 and a gateway 110. The access points 102,
112, the mobile communication device 129, the coordinating entity
108 and the gateway 110 may be substantially similar to the
corresponding components, which are shown in and described with
respect to FIG. 2, for example. The components within each of the
access points 102, 112, the mobile communication device 129 and the
coordinating entity 108 may be substantially similar to the
corresponding components, which are shown in and described with
respect to FIG. 2, for example. The communication links 151a, . . .
, 151n, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157 and 158 may be substantially
similar to the corresponding components, which are shown in and
described with respect to FIG. 2, for example. The communication
links 154, 157 and 159 are different.
The access point 102 may also comprise a network management engine
(NME) 107. The network management engine 107 may be operable to
manage communication resources within the access point 102. The
network management engine 107 may be operable to coordinate
managing of the communication resources for the access point 102
with the coordinating entity 108 and/or the network management
engine 117 in the access point 112. In addition to the plurality of
distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, and a corresponding
plurality of antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n, the access point
102 may also comprise a plurality of distributed transceivers 184a,
. . . , 184n, and a corresponding plurality of antenna arrays 185a,
. . . , 185n. The plurality of distributed transceivers 184a, . . .
, 184n, and a corresponding plurality of antenna arrays 185a, . . .
, 185n may be substantially similar to the plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, and a corresponding plurality of
antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n, and the plurality of distributed
transceivers 114a, . . . , 114n, and the corresponding plurality of
antenna arrays 115a, . . . , 115n, respectively.
The access point 112 may also comprise a network management engine
117. The network management engine 117 may be operable to manage
communication resources within the access point 112. The network
management engine 117 may be operable to coordinate managing of the
communication resources for the access point 112 with the
coordinating entity 108 and/or the network management engine 107 in
the access point 102.
The coordinating entity 108 may also comprise an optional network
management engine 108e. The optional network management engine 108e
may be operable to coordinate, oversee and/or manage the operation
of one or more of the network management engines in network. For
example, the optional network management engine 108e may be
operable to coordinate, oversee and/or manage operation of the
network management engine 107 in the access point 102 and/or the
network management engine 117 in the access point 112. In this
regard, the optional network management engine 108e may be operable
to coordinate operation of the communication resources within the
access points 102, 112. In general, some or all of the functions
that are handled by the network management engines 107, 117 may be
coordinated by the network management engine 108e. The optional
network management engine 108e may be operable to utilize
information from the gateway 110, the access point 102, the access
point 112, the mobile communication device 129, and/or from within
the coordinating entity 108 to coordinate, oversee and/or manage
the operation of one or more of the network management engines in
the network. Methods of operating distributed transceivers in
spatial multiplexing, frequency multiplexing, spatial diversity,
and frequency diversity, are disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,096, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0094439,
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,144, now published as U.S. Patent
Publication 2013-0095747, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,105, now
issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,817,678, U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,160, now published as U.S. Patient Publication 2013-0095874,
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,180, now issued as U.S. Pat. No.
8,780,943, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/473,113, now published as
U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0094544, U.S. application Ser. No.
13/473,083, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013-0095770,
which are incorporated herein by reference in there entirety, and
may be utilized to optimize the links between 102, 121 and between
108, 121.
The wireless interface 108c comprises a plurality of distributed
transceivers 164a, . . . , 164n, and a corresponding plurality of
antenna arrays 165a, . . . , 165n. The plurality of distributed
transceivers 164a, . . . , 164n, and a corresponding plurality of
antenna arrays 165a, . . . , 165n may be substantially similar to
the plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, and a
corresponding plurality of antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n, and
the plurality of distributed transceivers 114a, . . . , 114n, and a
corresponding plurality of antenna arrays 115a, . . . , 115n.
The communication link 154 comprises a backhaul communication link
between the access point 102 and the coordinating entity 108. The
communication link 154 may comprise, for example, a 5 GHz 802.11ac
link.
The communication link 157 comprises a backhaul communication link
between the access point 102 and the gateway 110. The communication
link 157 may comprise, for example, a 5 GHz 802.11 ac link.
The communication link 159 is a backhaul communication link between
the coordinating entity 108 and the gateway 110. The communication
link 159 may comprise, for example, a 5 GHz 802.11 ac link.
Referring to FIG. 4, the access points 102 is operable to provide
wireless access to the mobile communication device 129 via the
distributed transceivers 104n via the communication link 151a. The
communication link 151a may comprise a 60 GHz WiGig communication
link or other type of high speed communication link. The access
point 102 may utilize the distributed transceiver 184a to backhaul
traffic from the mobile communication device 129 to the gateway 121
via the communication link 157.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for
coordinating communication for a plurality of distributed
transceivers, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
invention. Referring to FIG. 5, there are shown exemplary steps 502
through 510. In step 502, the network devices send location
information, propagation environment characteristics, physical
environment characteristics and/or link quality to the coordinating
entity. In step 504, the coordinating entity determines how the
distributed transceivers and/or corresponding antenna arrays in the
network devices should be configured based on the information
received from the network devices, from information in the
coordinating entity and/or information from communication devices
that communicate with the network devices. In step 506, the
coordinating entity sends the corresponding determined
configuration information to the network devices. In step 508, the
network devices configure the transceivers and/or antenna arrays
based on the determined configuration information. In step 510, the
network devices utilize the configured transceivers and/or antenna
arrays to communicate with communication devices.
In some embodiments of the invention, a plurality of concurrent
802.11ac datastreams from different access points may be utilized
to provide a high capacity communication link for conveying data to
an access point. For example, the access point 102 may be
exchanging data with both the coordinating processor 108 and the
gateway 121 through two wireless communication links. The access
point 102 may be operable to aggregate the two 802.11ac streams,
for example, one from the gateway 121 and another from the
coordinating processor 108 to handle traffic for the server 18a on
the Internet 18. Addition parallel and/or concurrent 802.11ac
datastreams may also be utilized by the access point 102, for
example, via the same frequency channel or different frequency
channels, in order to further increase the link capacity.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for
coordinating communication for a plurality of distributed
transceivers, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the
invention. Referring to FIG. 6, there are shown exemplary steps 602
through 614. In step 602, the network devices send location
information, propagation environment characteristics, physical
environment characteristics and/or link quality to the coordinating
entity. In step 604, the coordinating entity determines how the
distributed transceivers and/or corresponding antenna arrays in the
network devices should be configured based on the information
received from the network devices, from information in the
coordinating entity and/or information from communication devices
that communicate with the network devices. In step 606, the
coordinating entity sends the corresponding determined
configuration information to the network devices.
In step 608, the coordinating entity determines the configuration
information for the links between the network devices and the
communication devices as well as the backhaul links and operating
modes for the network devices. In step 610, the coordinating entity
configures the backhaul links. In step 612, the network devices
configure the transceivers, antenna arrays and/or operating modes
based on the determined configuration information. In step 614, the
network devices utilize the configured transceivers and/or antenna
arrays to communicate with communication devices and backhaul
traffic utilizing the backhaul links.
In some embodiments of the invention, a plurality of concurrent
802.11ac datastreams from different access points may be utilized
to provide a high capacity communication link for conveying data to
an access point. For example, the access point 102 may be
exchanging data with both the coordinating processor 108 and the
gateway 121 through two wireless communication links. The access
point 102 may be operable to aggregate the two 802.11ac streams,
for example, one from the gateway 121 and another from the
coordinating processor 108 to handle traffic for the server 18a on
the Internet 18. Addition parallel and/or concurrent 802.11ac
datastreams may also be utilized by the access point 102, for
example, via the same frequency channel or different frequency
channels, in order to further increase the link capacity.
Various aspects of the invention may comprise a controlling entity
108, which is operable to communicate with a plurality of network
devices such as the access points 102, 112. Each of the plurality
of network devices such as the access points 102, 112 may comprise
a plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, 114a, .
. . , 114n and one or more corresponding antenna arrays 105a, . . .
, 105n, 115a, . . . , 115n, respectively. The controlling entity
108 may be operable to receive information from one or more of the
plurality of network devices such as the access points 102, 112
and/or from one or more communication devices such as the mobile
communication device 129, which are communicatively coupled to the
one or more of the plurality of network devices such as the access
points 102, 112. Exemplary received information comprises location
information, propagation environment characteristics, physical
environment characteristics and/or link quality.
The controlling entity 108 may be operable to coordinate
communication of data streams for one or more of the plurality of
distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, 114a, . . . , 114n and
one or more corresponding antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n, 115a,
. . . , 115n, respectively, for the plurality of network devices
such as the access points 102, 112 based on the received
information. Exemplary network devices may comprise access points,
routers, switching devices, gateways, and/or set top boxes. The
controlling entity 108 may be integrated within one of the
plurality of network devices such as the access points 102, 112 or
may be located external to the plurality of network devices. In
some embodiments of the invention, one or more functions performed
by the controlling entity 108 are split between the controlling
entity and one or more of the plurality of network devices such as
the access points 102, 112.
The controlling entity 108 may be operable to dynamically and/or
adaptively control adjustment of one or more configuration settings
for the one or more of the plurality of distributed transceivers
104a, . . . , 104n, 114a, . . . , 114n and one or more
corresponding antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n, 115a, . . . ,
115n, respectively, for one or more of the plurality of network
devices such as the access points 102, 112, based on the received
information. The controlling entity 108 may also be operable to
store the received information to generate a history of received
information. The controlling entity 108 may aggregate the history
of the received information with current information that may be
received from one or more of the plurality of network devices such
as the access points 102, 112, and/or from the one or more
communication devices such as the mobile communication device 129.
The controlling entity 108 may also be operable to dynamically
and/or adaptively control adjustment of one or more configuration
settings for the one or more of the plurality of distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, 114a, . . . , 114n and one or more
corresponding antenna arrays 105a, . . . , 105n, 115a, . . . ,
115n, respectively, for one or more of the plurality of network
devices such as the access point 102, 112 based on the aggregated
history of received information and current received
information.
The controlling entity 108 may also be operable to dynamically
and/or adaptively control two or more of the plurality of
distributed transceivers in a network device such as the network
device 102 to utilize different modes of operation and/or to split
the communication of the data streams amongst one or more of the
plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n in a
corresponding plurality of network devices. Exemplary modes of
operation may comprise a spatial diversity mode, a frequency
diversity mode, a spatial multiplexing mode, a frequency
multiplexing mode and a MIMO mode of operation. The controlling
entity 108 may be operable to backhaul traffic from one or more of
the network devices via one or more wired and/or wireless
communication links. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention,
the distributed transceivers, for example, the distributed
transceivers 104a, . . . , 104n, 114a, . . . , 114n may be
configured to switch between spatial diversity mode, frequency
diversity mode, multiplexing mode and
multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) mode based on, for example
corresponding propagation environment conditions, link quality,
device capabilities, device locations, resource availability and/or
usage, latency requirements, target throughput and/or link budgets,
application QoS requirements, class of service, and/or traffic
type. The controlling entity may also be operable to control two or
more of the plurality of distributed transceivers 104a, . . . ,
104n, 114a, . . . , 114n in a network device such as the access
points 102, 112 to utilize different modulation schemes,
constellations, protocols, frequencies, wireless standards and/or
bandwidths to handle different types of data traffic and/or control
traffic based on the received information.
As utilized herein the terms "circuits" and "circuitry" refer to
physical electronic components (i.e. hardware) and any software
and/or firmware ("code") which may configure the hardware, be
executed by the hardware, and or otherwise be associated with the
hardware. As used herein, for example, a particular processor and
memory may comprise a first "circuit" when executing a first one or
more lines of code and may comprise a second "circuit" when
executing a second one or more lines of code. As utilized herein,
"and/or" means any one or more of the items in the list joined by
"and/or". As an example, "x and/or y" means any element of the
three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. As another example, "x, y,
and/or z" means any element of the seven-element set {(x), (y),
(z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z), (x, y, z)}. As utilized herein, the
term "exemplary" means serving as a non-limiting example, instance,
or illustration. As utilized herein, the terms "e.g.," and "for
example" set off lists of one or more non-limiting examples,
instances, or illustrations. As utilized herein, circuitry is
"operable" to perform a function whenever the circuitry comprises
the necessary hardware and code (if any is necessary) to perform
the function, regardless of whether performance of the function is
disabled, or not enabled, by some user-configurable setting.
Other embodiments of the invention may provide a computer readable
device and/or a non-transitory computer readable medium, and/or a
machine readable device and/or a non-transitory machine readable
medium, having stored thereon, a machine code and/or a computer
program having at least one code section executable by a machine
and/or a computer, thereby causing the machine and/or computer to
perform the steps as described herein for distributed transceivers
for distributed access points connectivity.
Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,
software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present
invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one
computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different
elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems.
Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying
out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination
of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computer system
with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed,
controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods
described herein.
The present invention may also be embedded in a computer program
product, which comprises all the features enabling the
implementation of the methods described herein, and which when
loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods.
Computer program in the present context means any expression, in
any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended
to cause a system having an information processing capability to
perform a particular function either directly or after either or
both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or
notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.
While the present invention has been described with reference to
certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the
art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be
substituted without departing from the scope of the present
invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a
particular situation or material to the teachings of the present
invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is
intended that the present invention not be limited to the
particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention
will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the
appended claims.
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